I've Been Wrong Before: Essays by Evan James

Disclaimer: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in return for my unbiased opinion.

This book is a collection of short essays about the author's reflection of his time travelling to places. It's like David Sedaris's essays. Each essay however has something deep and philosophical about it. The inner thought process and emotional state is put on the paper in a very tactful manner. There is an undertone of looking for true love only to be sabotaged by the author himself as in when his wanderlust takes priority. Overall, I found this book entertaining and if you like short essays you may like this book too. The chapters are not that long and you can go through them in 30 mins maybe less than that each.

Caging Skies by Christine Leunens

Disclaimer: This book was given to me for free by the publisher for my unbiased review in return.

Stories that are set in the backdrop of historic events are my favorite and this novel by Christine Leunens falls in that category. Set in the backdrop of pre-WWII in Austria the main character Johannes then a child is brainwashed by the propaganda machine of Hitler which his parents don't agree with but has on choice but to put up with their son's misguided love for their leader. The daily interactions between a misguided son and his parents are well-captures by the author. The book is almost fun to see how a child can be made a part of such a machine and cause to blur the line between moral and immoral. The story starts getting interesting once Johannes finds out that his parents have been hiding a jew girl in their house which nobody knows off. First hatred and feeling of supremacy of being an Aryan compared to a jew girl and then irrational obsession towards her makes the middle third of the novel pretty interesting. The lengths Johannes goes to hide the fact that Allies won the war so that he doesn't have to part with his "girlfriend" is what makes the middle third of the book interesting. There is quite bit of tension between the girl and Johannes , again well written by the author. The book starts getting little dis-interesting in the end where the writing takes a mostly philosophical turn making it hard to get by. But the story comes full circle when once a man of free will keeping a girl from achieving her freedom himself becomes a captive of his psyche. 

Overall, a good book. I think most people will enjoy it atleast the first 2/3rd of it. The last couple chapters may feel like a little drag but if you like heavy writing you will enjoy even those last chapters.  

Temper by Layne Fargo (Goodreads Author)

First of all  I would like to thank the publishing company for providing me a copy of this book in return for my unbiased review.

What drew my attention when I asked for this book for review was the cover and the title. I knew it had to be a story on one of the undesired elements of human nature i.e anger/temper. But it's not a flat out vendetta novel nor is there a frank declaration or portrayal of uncontrolled anger. What we have is a psychological thriller of a sort where the constant provocation leads to an ever building passion in which the line between good passion and bad passion is so blurred that one does not know which one is guiding the action of the doer. The doer is a debutante, Kira Rascher who has just landed a lead role in a famous Chicago theatre company production whose director cum lead actor Malcolm Mercer has been known to take his actors to extremes to mold them to his desires by psychologically manipulating them on and off stage. There is a particular magnetism that people feel around him that they can't pull themselves out of and continues to egg along knowing that they might be losing their identity and continues to torment themselves just to prove that they are worth his time. Between a constant psychological manipulation by the director and his actors, there is another character Joanna who is a constant companion to Malcolm Mercer and  has been desiring his validation since the day she met him be it professionally or romantically but to no avail leading to build up of years of resentment that finally finds outlet as the book end draws near. This interplay of human emotions divided in short chapters told from the perspective of two women Kira  and Joanna keeps this book so interesting and a page turner.

Layne Fargo the author has done a good job capturing and exploring the interplay of confusing emotions and relationships in her debut novel. I enjoyed this book and I am sure if you are into psychological thrillers and drama you will too. 

Good Will: Shakespeare's Novel Life by Arthur W. Wiggins (Goodreads Author), Barbara M. Wiggins

This book was sent to me by the authors for free in return for my unbiased opinion of it. So here it is.

Shakespeare has been a man of mystery to many and such an antique personality that hardly someone outside studying English literature would express curiosity about Shakespeare's life. This book is for those who are peripherally interested in knowing about his life. It is a hybrid of facts as gathered by authors during their trips to England and some extrapolated ideas that fills in the gap and makes most sense. Thankfully the language is easy to comprehend and the book reads fast. Interspersed are sonnets as one would expect of any book on Shakespeare. Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you have even the slightest curiosity about Shakespeare and what the life would have been like when he was alive. 

I particularly liked the last paragraph of this book. It is a conversation between business manager of The Globe after it was burnt down in an accident. The business manager asks Shakespeare who is tending his wife who has been injured in the fire while watching a play to commit his time and money to rebuild The Globe and keep writing more plays that makes money for the company and Will says " Cuthbert you disgust me. Your emphasis on money sounds more like my father than yours. Life isn't about money, it's about love. The love of my life and I are going home."

I think that is true no matter if you are a playwright genius like Shakespeare or someone who works long hours just to make ends meet.

Knowledge in a Nutshell: Astrophysics

One of the most thorough book I have read on astrophysics. Backed by diagrams, figures and formulas this book goes a step beyond The Origin Story by David Christian or Neil Degrasse Tyson's book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. Be warned though that it is a little bit more technical for a layman wanting to explore field of astrophysics. Perhaps above mentioned books may serve as a stepping stone for this book but once you feel comfortable with the level of complexity you are sure to enjoy it. The book addresses the field of astrophysics from its history to current state. The content is thoroughly explored and explained.

Overall, I found this book worth reading with my interest in Astrophysics. If you are a budding scientist or have a general interest in astrophysics and want to take it up a notch, I highly recommend this book.

Raising the Bar: Diversifying Big Law by Anthony C. Thompson (Editor, Introduction), Debo P. Adegbile, Lisa Davis, Damaris Hernández, Ted Wells

Diversity and inclusion is the theme these days at many institutions, public and private sector work places and corporations. In Raising the Bar: Diversifying Big Law the author Anthony C. Thompson discusses how this theme can be included in workings of Big Law firms. Unlike many professions, Law remains a somewhat conservative profession where we haven't achieved much diversity in terms of colored folks in partnership position though that is changing we are lagging significantly behind. This book dubbed as a Playbook for law firms on how to diversity their workforce by mentoring, feedback, compensating is an interesting and insightful read. For colored folks as the be it Latino, African american,  Asian or women, the prevailing way to success is  work twice, thrice or even four times as hard to achieve half as privileged person and the authors suggests that it is not going to change at this moment or even not in your lifetime but looking at the history we know one thing that we have come far, the pace albeit is slow. 

Overall, this book is a good read and I recommend it to anyone who would like to incorporate diversity at their work place. Although the book is meant for law firms, the ideas are fundamental and adaptable to any work place be it a major corporation or small firm with just 100 employees. 

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher for free in return for my unbiased opinion.

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham

Amazing history of one of the most terrible nuclear disaster as told by Adam Higgibotham. I bought a book called The Legacy of Chernobyl but wasn't able to finish it due to some life circumstances. But with this new book available at my local library, I felt I had to put an end to my gaps in understanding of Chernobyl disaster. This book takes you through not only what happened at the reactor that went haywire but also provides the historical context  sort of a lens to see this disaster through. How USSR's hunger for economic development via increase in production of electricity lead to making some irresponsible decision by the higher ups and how USSR's top government decided to hide the accident rather than come clean and let the world know so that it can prepare for the nuclear fall out. It it was common in USSR only few people got punished while others who were derelict in their duty of letting the operators know of the potential risks involved were let loose. The book is more of a story than a documentary as most books on Chernobyl are. The story if unfortunately interesting and is a page turner all the way. Salute and respect to those who risked their lives to contain the fire and nuclear leak by working too close to immensely high radiation levels at the site of the nuclear reactor. It is as much a  story of them as it is of USSR's misadventure. The world should learn from the past mistakes. Companion book to this book is The Legacy of Chernobyl by Zhores Medvedev.

Hot Shot by Fern Michaels

Disclaimer: This book was given to me for free by the publisher in return for my unbiased opinion.

This happens to be the first pocket book kind of a novel I read. The plot of the story revolves around figuring out the mystery behind certain someone with power gets shot but survives. Bunch of friends of the shot guy and his wife's take it upon themselves to investigate the series of events that lead to the shooting. I find the end hilarious. I won't disclose the ending but I was like seriously!!!!!

I would have liked the story to have some police work mentioned but I guess that's fiction for you. Overall, I think if you are used to reading books without much thinking then you may like it. I personally didn't enjoy it much but then I am not the target reader for such books either.

The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator by Joakim Palmkvist, Agnes Broomé (Translator)

Wow...what a murder mystery but a real one that can be made into a movie. Set in a small farming town in Sweden this is a true story of a multimillionaire father and his sudden disappearance and a persistent search undertaken by police and volunteer organisation that eventually yields results after 2 years. Although the prime suspects are easy to figure out it took a sincere dedication by a volunteer to finally nail the suspects down by taking on risk on herself. This family saga mired in greed, hatred, delusion, blind love and devotion is certainly a thrilling true story. 

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

A thought provoking novel by Celeste Ng. We often forget that everybody is different and comes from a different background with his or her own set of experiences that have made that person who he/she is today. What is normal for one might not be normal for the other. Such is the plot of this book in which a vagabond artist who happens to rent a house from a landlord who thinks she has the perfect family and life until things happen that makes her analyze her own life. The catalyst in this novel are children and an adoption of a asian baby by caucasian parents. Overall, it's an enjoyable light read. If you are into fiction-drama, you will like this book.